April 9, 2024 | International, Land
How Patriot proved itself in Ukraine and secured a fresh future
What might have looked like an aging system not long ago now appears to be a workhorse that could be used for years to come.
October 1, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Trump signs defense spending plan, with one more swipe at Democrats
By: Leo Shane III
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump finalized an $854 billion spending bill on Friday that fully funds the military for fiscal 2019 and prevents a government shutdown next week, accomplishments that congressional leaders have called important and laudable.
But Trump's signature came with one final attack on Democrats over the spending measure, lamenting lawmakers' decision not to include extra money in the appropriations package for his planned wall along the southern U.S. border.
“Unfortunately, the radical Democrats refuse to support border security and want drugs and crime to pour into our country,” he said in a statement after signing the bill.
The comments came just a week after Trump took to social media to blast “this ridiculous Spending Bill,” raising fears of a presidential veto on Capitol Hill. Instead, Trump largely praised the measure on Friday, calling it “important legislation to rebuild our military” and promote other domestic priorities.
The appropriations measure includes $674 billion in defense funding for fiscal 2019, and marks the first time in a decade Congress has finalized the spending measure before the start of the new fiscal year.
The measure funds a 2.6 percent pay raise for troops starting next January and a boost in military end strength of 16,400 spread across the active-duty and reserve forces.
Trump, in his statement, praised the measure for including “93 new F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighters, 142 Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, and 13 Navy battle force ships — made right here in the USA.”
In a statement after the signing, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, praised the president for pushing for the funding increases in his budget request and past public statements.
“By funding our military in full and on time, we can begin to restore its strength, agility, and effectiveness,” he said. “As I have said before, the task before us now is to make full, on time funding of our military the rule in Washington, and not the exception.”
The spending bill also includes full-year funding for the departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, as well as bridge funding for a handful of other government agencies to keep them operational through Dec. 7.
Last week, Trump signed into law a separate package that included full-year funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and for military construction projects.
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April 25, 2024 | International, Security
State-Sponsored Hackers Exploit Two Cisco Zero-Day Vulnerabilities for Espionage
A new stealthy malware campaign leveraging two zero-day flaws in Cisco networking gear has been uncovered, allowing covert data collection and reconna
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May 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 13, 2020
NAVY The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $1,971,754,089 firm-fixed-price contract to provide non-recurring engineering associated with the Stand-off Land Attack Missile – Expanded Response (SLAM ER) obsolescence redesign effort as well as the production and delivery of 650 SLAM ER missiles in support of the government of Saudi Arabia. Work will be performed at St. Louis, Missouri (47%); Indianapolis, Indiana (37%); Pontiac, Michigan (9%); Melbourne, Florida (3%); Middletown, Connecticut (2%); and Black Mountain, North Carolina (2%). Work is expected to be complete by December 2028. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $1,971,754,089 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-4. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-C-0003). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $656,981,421 modification (P00014) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-19-C-0016). This modification procures and delivers 467 Harpoon full rate production Lot 91 Block II missiles and support equipment for various Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will be performed at St. Louis, Missouri (30%); McKinney, Texas (28%); Toledo, Ohio (6%); Grove, Oklahoma (5%); Pontiac, Michigan (4%); Putnam, Connecticut (2%); Galena, Kansas (2%); Burnley, United Kingdom (2%); Lititz, Pennsylvania (1%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (19%). This modification procures four Block II missiles and support equipment for the government of Brazil, eight Block II missiles and support equipment for the government of Thailand, 53 Block II missiles and support equipment for the government of Qatar, 402 Block II missiles and support equipment for the government of Saudi Arabia, and support equipment for the governments of Japan, the Netherlands, India and Korea. Work is expected to be complete by December 2026. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $656,981,421 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Strategic Airborne Operations JV LLC,* Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $146,834,175 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract acquires the High Endurance Electronic Warfare Jet (HEEWJ) capability. Work will be performed in Cherry Point, North Carolina (5%); and various locations within and outside the continental U.S. (95%) to be determined on individual orders. The HEEWJ capability is an offensive air support for training that provides regionally based, geographically distributed aviation with a variety of airborne threat simulation capabilities to train shipboard and aircraft weapon systems operators and aircrew to counter enemy electronic warfare and electronic attack operations in today's electronic combat environment in support of Department of the Navy, other Department of Defense (DOD) agencies, non-DOD government agencies and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work is expected to be completed in May 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal, and two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-20-D-0108). Q.E.D. Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $16,205,606 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-15-C-4400 for specification development and execution/procurement support services in support of Chief of Naval Operations availabilities, continuous maintenance availabilities (CMAVs), inactivation CMAVs, sustainment availabilities, phased modernization availabilities, re-commissioning availabilities, continuous maintenance and emergent maintenance window of opportunity for Navy surface combatant ship classes (CG 47/DDG 51). Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (53%); San Diego, California (36%); and Everett, Washington (11%). Work is expected to be complete by October 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of award. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. BAE Systems, Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Greenlawn, New York, is awarded a $14,465,881 modification (P00010) to previously awarded, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00019-17-D-0006. This modification adds the requirement to procure 46 AN/UPX-41(C) digital interrogators and 10 Mode 5 change kits for the Navy, Coast Guard, the government of Japan and various countries under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, New York (80%); Austin, Texas (10%); and Manassas, Virginia (10%), and is expected to be complete by May 2023. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. CACI Enterprise Solutions Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $13,904,377 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order modification in the four option years of the integrated business systems support services contract (N32205-19-F-1044 and P00008). Information technology services in this contract assist Military Sealift Command's business systems and ashore operations branch to manage, operate and maintain the command's business systems, as well as interfaces with the Navy Enterprise Defense Business Systems. Work under this modification will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by December 2023. This modification includes the remaining portion (eight months) of Option Year One as well as three 12-month options. If exercised, the cumulative value of this modification will be $13,598,409. The task order was competitively procured with proposals and four offers were received. The Naval Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded an $8,954,062 modification (P00091) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-14-C-0050. This modification provides support for the integration and transition of Windows 10 and Server 16 into various VH-92A training devices. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by October 2022. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,667,720 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Northrop Grumman, McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $176,471,668 modification (P00056) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0014 to support Army special electronic mission aircraft fixed-wing life cycle services. Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $176,471,668 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $167,556,981 modification (P00057) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0011 for support services for government-owned fixed-wing fleets performing transport aircraft missions. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $167,556,981 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., Sunrise, Florida, was awarded a $7,759,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Everglades restoration. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Miami-Dade, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 16, 2021. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $7,759,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (W912EP-20-C-0004). Michels Corp., Brownsville, Wisconsin, was awarded a $7,066,242 firm-fixed-price contract to repair levee systems in the Missouri River Basin. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Pender, Nebraska, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $7,066,242 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-C-0026). Qualx Corp., Springfield, Virginia,* was awarded a $7,003,493 modification (P00010) to contract W91QF0-18-F-0047 for digitization of archival materials for the Army Heritage and Education Center. Work will be performed in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 25, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $7,003,493 were obligated at the time of the award. Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY NuStar Terminal Partner TX L.P., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $22,392,616 firm-fixed-price contract for contractor-owned, contract-operated services to receive, store and issue U.S. government-owned jet propellant thermally stable. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a four-year base contract with one five-year option period with a possible six-month extension. Location of performance is Texas, with a June 30, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE603-20-C-5006). AIR FORCE CAE USA Inc., Tampa, Florida, has been awarded a $10,544,331 firm-fixed-price modification (P00158) to contract FA8223-10-C-0013 for support of the KC-135 Aircrew Training System. This modification provides for collective bargaining agreement wage adjustments resulting from Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Act – Price Adjustment, and brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $526,529,911. Work will be performed in Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana; MacDill AFB, Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Ohio; Scott AFB, Illinois; Fairchild AFB, Washington; Milwaukee Air National Guard Base, Wisconsin; March AFB, California; and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,544,331 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Honeywell International Inc., Phoenix, Arizona, has been award a $7,777,093 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to research, develop, integrate, validate and demonstrate Consistent Logical Automated Reasoning for Integrated System Software Assurance (CLARISSA) for development and assessment of assurance cases. This contract provides for the research and development of technology to automate generation of assurance cases from curated evidence. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by March 12, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $380,564 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-0512). (Awarded March 19, 2020) *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2185990/source/GovDelivery/